From the pictures I've seen of grips, it looks like everyone prefers that the pad of the end of the pinky finger should be pressed against the rim. What is the downside to having the tip of the pinky finger against the rim?

For some reason, I find getting the pinky finger's pad against the rim extremely difficult for narrow-rim discs (putters and some mids). I don't know if my pinky just doesn't bend that way easily (seems like almost a hyper-extension of the last joint in the pinky finger is required), or if my pinky finger is just extremely short (my fingers are unusually short). When using a fan grip for putting, it seems nearly impossible to get the pinky's pad flat against the rim.

Just wondering if anyone has experimented with different pinky positions and what the results were. Particularly interested in the potential for grip-lock and power generation when driving, and accuracy when putting.

Just noticed this in Blake's backhand driving troubleshooting article:

Your pinky isn't leaving the disc cleanly upon release.Possible Fix:If you have too much pressure between your pinky finger and the disc, the disc may "stick" and release late with a pull to the right. This can be alleviated in a couple of grip modifications. The first is to lower the contact point of your pinky on the rim. If your pinky is usually pressed near where the flight plate meets the rim, move it down and have the pinky apply pressure closer to the bottom of the rim. This should help the disc pull out more easily. Another possibility that is more difficult but possibly stronger in the long run is to press your pinky on top of your ring finger rather than directly on the disc.

Will keep that in mind when I do my field practice today. Still wondering though if the pinky pad vs tip on the rim makes a difference.

I have had increased distance removing the pinky from the disc. Middle finger too. I have looser muscles and more wrist movement range for a bigger snap that way. When i don't get slips so in the winter or in the rain it is not that smart to use a two finger grip. Annies need more gripping power too so there it is a good idea to have at least three fingers under the disc.

Flat shots need running on the center line of the tee and planting each step on the center line. Anhyzer needs running from rear right to front left with the plant step hitting the ground to the left of the line you're running on. Hyzer is the mirror of that.

Well I'm thinking grip doesn't matter as much as I thought it did. After trying a lot of different grips, all seeing lots of OAT, I was like "hmmmm I think I'm wrist down, but I wonder what happens if I exaggerate the wrist down as much as possible". Bam. Throwing just like I was three years ago before my injury. Tried several grips, all worked fine. It was not getting wrist down enough that was holding me back.

Still a hint of flutter when I drive putters, but that was always a bit inconsistent for me. And at least I know I'm headed in the right direction.

KRooster wrote:Well I'm thinking grip doesn't matter as much as I thought it did.

I think grip has some what to do with distance but I feel it has more to do with accuracy than anything. Also different grips use different muscles in your hand & arm so that also has an impact on your throw. I believe that one of the most important parts of grip is where your pressure is at. I heard from Feldberg that the most grip pressure should be from your thumb & from your bottom finger on your grip (pinky on a standard four finger power grip) pressing to the meaty part of your palm the rests on top of your disc. Also making sure that there is as small of a gap as possible between your thumb & the meaty part of your palm (right below your thumb) & the top of the disc. Another thing I found is that using a pinch/fan grip (I use the Climo Grip) when driving with Mids & Putters helped me a lot with adding distance & accuracy.

Here is a few videos in which Feldberg & Climo explain the about grip & grip pressure.

Thanks for the videos, will watch all of them later after work. I've read/seen much conflicting information about pressure points. Some people say pressure primarily into the palm, some people say apply pressure with the thumb and index finger against each other. I've been doing the former (primarily into the palm), and accuracy has been amazing, but I'm only driving putters around 220' so I will play around with pressure points to see if I can get more distance with grip tweaks.

In any case, now my pinky finger has been hurting after my last couple throwing sessions. I've been getting the pad of the pinky finger against the rim, as described by Feldberg. However, it feels like the last joint on the pinky (closest to the tip) needs to be hyper-extended to get in that position, and it must be even more hyper-extended when the disc rips out.

Next time I throw I will be switching back to pinky curled under (joint closest to the tip flexed, rather than extended) with the pinky tip against the disc rim. Hopefully this won't affect accuracy.

KRooster wrote:Thanks for the videos, will watch all of them later after work. I've read/seen much conflicting information about pressure points. Some people say pressure primarily into the palm, some people say apply pressure with the thumb and index finger against each other. I've been doing the former (primarily into the palm), and accuracy has been amazing, but I'm only driving putters around 220' so I will play around with pressure points to see if I can get more distance with grip tweaks.

In any case, now my pinky finger has been hurting after my last couple throwing sessions. I've been getting the pad of the pinky finger against the rim, as described by Feldberg. However, it feels like the last joint on the pinky (closest to the tip) needs to be hyper-extended to get in that position, and it must be even more hyper-extended when the disc rips out.

Next time I throw I will be switching back to pinky curled under (joint closest to the tip flexed, rather than extended) with the pinky tip against the disc rim. Hopefully this won't affect accuracy.

If you have time I'd say watch the whole DG Monthly videos, they are full of good info on everything on Putting, Forehand & Backhand. If you want to just watch the tips on grip just skip to Feldberg teaching backhand.

KRooster wrote:In any case, now my pinky finger has been hurting after my last couple throwing sessions. I've been getting the pad of the pinky finger against the rim, as described by Feldberg. However, it feels like the last joint on the pinky (closest to the tip) needs to be hyper-extended to get in that position, and it must be even more hyper-extended when the disc rips out.

Next time I throw I will be switching back to pinky curled under (joint closest to the tip flexed, rather than extended) with the pinky tip against the disc rim. Hopefully this won't affect accuracy.

Sounds like you are trying to pull the back of the rim into the palm too much. Try pinching more between the flight plate, and keep the disc wing pressure into the base of the index finger instead of the palm. With a more pinchy grip you can use your fingers to spring the disc more than it ripping.

There are pros and cons to the different grips. I find it easier to get the nose down using forward thumb pressure which results in having the thumb pad completely off the disc. But I have an extreme hitchhikers thumb which makes this grip more natural for me.

So I watched the videos, had actually seen them before except for the pro clinics. Those were really amazing. Anyway, here is the source of my perpetual confusion. I learned the power grip from reading the old "grip it to rip it" article on the main discgolfreview site. It says the following:

Pressure PointsThe pressure points of the grip are very important for maximizing power. The finger your disc rips off of (either the index or middle fingers) will want to have their pressure directed pressing into the wall of the rim towards the seam of the hand or base of the thumb. The other fingers of the grip will want to focus their pressure into the base of the thumb. The pressure of the grip should be directed into the hand, and not upwards. Thumb pad pressure is relatively unimportant and is mainly used to help guide and control the disc. The exceptions to this case are grips that require thumb pad pressure to press the nose down that I mentioned earlier or if you use thumb pressure to bend the flight plate and increase your rip finger's pressure into the seam of the hand or base of the thumb.

So basically, all fingers pressing into the rim towards the palm (or base of the thumb if you prefer). That's not at all what Feldberg or Climo are saying; they say index finger should oppose thumb pressure like you're picking up a fork, and that that's the strongest point of the grip. That's what I always thought a "pinch grip" was. Feldberg also says the thumb pad muscle should be activated. It sounds like his grip has pressure from multiple directions in multiple places, as opposed to the "grip it to rip it" article which has all pressure in one direction.

Is the "grip it to rip it" article simply wrong? It works for me accuracy-wise, but I can't throw very far... oh well, gonna test some things tomorrow in the field.